Munde, who also holds the energy portfolio, said that the government will make a provision of Rs 200 crore for this purpose, so that the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP), the main agency looking after the drinking water supply schemes in State does not have to shoulder the financial burden. The scheme will be brought into effect by introducing a horse-power based billing system.

He said that at present, the Gram Panchayats and the municipal councils have to pay electricity charges for drinking water supply by the normal unit system. Due to this, some of the bodies end up paying as much as Rs 25 lakh as the annual bill for a small town of 10,000-12,000 population. The introduction of horse-power based billing system will bring down this bill to an average of Rs 5,000, he said.

Delivering thepresidential address at a function organised here to formally declare Nagpur district as `tanker-free', Munde said that this was one of the important policy changes towards the successful implementation of `tanker-free' scheme in the State.

He said the government's aim is to ensure provision of 55 litres of water per head per day for at least 30 years. Towards this end, the State Government prioritised drinking water over industry and agriculture and reserved 10-15 per cent of water on all irrigation projects for drinking purposes. Also the complete responsibility to chalk out and implement the water supply schemes has been handed over to the MJP, he mentioned.

Earlier, Anna Dange, State Minister for Water Supply, Cleanliness and Social Welfare, inauguarted a computerised feature on the water supply situation in the district.

Dange said that earlier, about 2022 tankers were used each year to provide water to scarcity-hit villages in the State, However, during this summer only 283 tankers were used. Itis also cost effective as the government had to spend only Rs six to seven crore in this direction instead of the earlier Rs 30-40 crore.